In the Magazine: A Rare Bird – Laine Ashker Is Unapologetically Herself

There’s no one else in the game quite like Laine Ashker. Recognized as the jog strip trend-setter and selfie queen on social media, she is as articulate and educated as she is talented on the back of a horse.

This top American eventer has traveled the globe competing in the toughest horse trials in the world, but stays close to her roots. She knows exactly who she is.

And she’s not sorry for it.

“With my story, you either love me or you hate me, but what you can’t do is ignore me,” Laine said. “I’ve been someone who has continued to persevere, and whether you like it or not, that’s just the facts.”

Her story involves more than her fair share of curveballs, from broken bones to financial limitations to devastating losses of her equine partners. But Laine’s unwavering resolve to stick to her mantra of “rise and grind” has served her well, as her career has only flourished – even when the deck was stacked against her.

Turning Tragedy on Its Head

Laine was one of the leading event riders in the country at the young age of 24 with a hefty competition schedule at the three- and four-star level, her sights set on the Olympic Games in Beijing. Then in April 2008, a tragic accident at the Rolex Kentucky CCI4* left a young Laine injured physically and reeling from the loss of her horse. She was catapulted into the media limelight and the onslaught, she recalled, was brutal. >> Read the full article in the April issue of Heels Down Magazine.